FallGirl

Annabelle’s bipolar brother has screwed up so bad, their father has decided to move them across state. If she wants to convince her dad to stay, all she'll have to get past is an angry ex, his attractive best friend and keep from getting caught while breaking the law, or it's hello new high school and goodbye senior year with best friends. More

Annabelle Jones has always taken her bipolar brother under her wing, but after years of acting as his personal disaster janitor she finds herself rebelling against her lifelong compulsion to take responsibility for his actions and fix all his mistakes. Unfortunately, the more she rebels the more personal it becomes, especially when his actions start to affect her own future.

The struggle between letting her brother deal with his own consequences and fixing just one more thing for him pushes and pulls at Annabelle as each mistake he makes lands her further and further from the life she's always known and crushes all hopes of the future she has planned. If the decision she makes about whether or not to play clean up crew for his most recent disaster fails to produce the results she needs most, life as she knows it will be forever changed. But maybe ... just maybe, letting him take the fall for his screw ups this time might turn out to be the best thing that's ever happened to her.

Whereas books like The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath or Impulse, by Ellen Hopkins show mental disorders through the viewpoint of the individual suffering from the illness, Fall Girl explores Bipolar through the eyes of a family member in order to show that bipolar disorder not only affects the person suffering from the illness, but also the people who are close to them.

Marybeth Smith is a perpetual perfectionist living out her daily life as an imperfect mother of three little ones. In 2010, she founded the website www.askabipolar.com, where she and a group of authors suffering from bipolar disorder answer reader’s questions about mental illnesses. In her spare time she writes, blogs and designs websites. She is currently working to publish her most recent novel, Fall Girl, and hopes that one day, through this novel and her website; she will be able to help bring an end to the stigma surrounding mental illness.

To learn more about Marybeth visit www.marybethsmith.com or www.askabipolar.com. You can contact her via email at marybeth@askabipolar.com.

Also by This Author

Reviews

Review by:
S Hanson
on Oct. 12, 2011 :
It's really great to see someone talking about bipolar disorder in a new way. Anyone with a sibling understands the huge effect they have on your life especially as a child, and the author here really gives you an inside look to a bipolar sibling. She writes honest and raw characters that made for a captivating read, but definitely best for teenagers or anyone who knows someone with bipolar.(review of free book)

Review by:
T Pierce
on Sep. 27, 2011 :
Loved this book! I will keep looking for more by her. My 14 year old daughter loves to read and we share a lot of books. Unfortunately, the amount of profanity, partying and such prevents me from letting her read this. The main reason I would love for her to read the book is because I am mildly bipolar and Annabelle and her mother' s relationship mirrors mine and my daughter's in some ways. The author is a good writer and, while her goal may primarily have been to educate readers on the relationships surrounding those with bipolar disorder, she manages to tell an engaging, thoughtful, and funny story as well.(review of free book)

Review by:
Mindy Crump
on July 09, 2011 :
Marybeth Smith is a gnome loving writer from Michigan who is the founder of an amazing website called www.askabipolar.com.

In her self published debut e-book called "Fall Girl", her main character named Annabelle who is 17 to be, has to deal with the many trials and tribulations surrounding her caused by her friends and family. Many of which seem to come from either her bipolar brother Blake or her mean spirited ex boyfriend named Spencer.

I have personally read many books in my life but none of which deals with the subject of the bipolar disorder in a natural, normal like way as Marybeth does in her e-book. Though I know very little about the disorder I have learned a lot from reading her novel not only about the disorder itself but how to be a better person thanks to her well written characters.

In my personal opinion, if you enjoy reading YA high school material then you would definitely enjoy reading this e-book.

To find out more about Marybeth Smith visit http://www.marybethsmith.com/

To buy the book well that is easy enough. Look at the top of this page and buy it darn it! (You know you want to)
(reviewed within a week of purchase)

Review by:
Bekki Smith
on July 04, 2011 :
one of the best books i read.... i don't read books very often. i couldn't put it down..
(reviewed within a week of purchase)

Review by:
Eden Tyler
on June 30, 2011 :
From the beginning, you immediately identify with Annabelle, no matter your age. Everyone has been in high school and had problems. But Annabelle's problems are a little bit different to start, which shows the depth of the ride you're in for as a reader. Her brother is bipolar and you sense the problems this has caused and will continue to cause. But aside from that, Annabelle is a normal teen with boyfriend and friend problems, so everyone can relate.
Knowing a lot about bipolar disorder myself, Smith does a great job of portraying what the disease is like and how it affects family members -- the flip side of what most books about bipolar do.
I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone. Not only entertaining and well-written, it's a learning experience.(review of free book)

Review by:
rebecca holmquist
on June 28, 2011 :
Brilliant! I couldn't put this book down once I started it. It brought back so many memories of my teen years spent with a bipolar brother and the trouble he got himself into...
The characters are so true to life and Marybeth doesn't hold back...she lets her characters show their real colors without sugarcoating the dialogue! Awesome job!
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by:
Bob Geer
on June 26, 2011 :
Awesome Book--I am so excited to see a new Author out there !! I love this book :)
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by:
Theresa Whitman
on June 25, 2011 :
Absolutely brilliant! If there's one thing I can say of Ms. Smith, it's that she's able to bring characters to life in their true form. It's not easy to convince the reader that characters can be "real", but she's done it with this fabulous novel. It's also amazing that Ms. Smith has been able to create a view point of life with bipolar through the eyes of a teenager so convincingly. I'm eagerly awaiting her next novel...(review of free book)

Review by:
Pocket Christi
on June 19, 2011 :
Fall Girl is a fantastic fictional piece written for teens that includes an accurate depiction of a high school girl and her teenage angst while her her bipolar brother reeks havoc on her life. Not only was this wonderfully written, but the book was not an account of a bipolar teen and their life, but instead, how siblings of a bipolar teen can be affected. Though fictional, Blake's character holds true to a teen with bipolar. All the characters were developed so well and the scenes so realistic, I felt like I was back in high school all over again and that I was Annabelle. This book was fantastic and I hope there is a sequel coming. I must know what happens next!!!! I give it 5 AMAZEBALLS stars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by:
Pocket Christi
on June 19, 2011 :
Fall Girl is a fantastic fictional piece written for teens that includes an accurate depiction of a high school girl and her teenage angst while her her bipolar brother reeks havoc on her life. Not only was this wonderfully written, but the book was not an account of a bipolar teen and their life, but instead, how siblings of a bipolar teen can be affected. Though fictional, Blake's character holds true to a teen with bipolar. All the characters were developed so well and the scenes so realistic, I felt like I was back in high school all over again and that I was Annabelle. This book was fantastic and I hope there is a sequel coming. I must know what happens next!!!! I give it 5 AMAZEBALLS stars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(reviewed within a month of purchase)